Skate Inspired Architecture

By Chris | January 7, 2009 |
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Ever walked past a building or structure and thought to yourself that someone working there has to be a skateboarder (cough*St Kilda foreshore*cough)? Well according to Zaha Hadid, via this article by Wired, maybe not… but they do consult with skateboarders for certain design features. The image above is of the new Oslo Opera House which has been designed with skateboarders in mind (some areas anyway). It makes you wonder whilst this is happening, why many councils still battle building skate parks. Worth the read.

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Comments

  1. Jay
    7 Jan, 2009
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    I find this strange, I worked as an Architect in Oslo for a year and all I read or heard about this subject while I was there was that all the drops and gaps in the mostly rough marble were preventative measures to deter skateboarders and the like… And when you visit the site, there are signs all over the place warning that you cannot use skateboards, rollerblades, bikes, etc… Maybe there are two stories around – One from the legal view of the management and one from the architects… But I never saw one skater there… They seemed to prefer the steps of the Town Hall.


  2. Jay
    7 Jan, 2009
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    Oh, and if anyone wonders who Zaha Hadid is, she designed the quite famous Ski Jump in Innsbruck, Austria. For those of you who have been there…


  3. Chunk
    7 Jan, 2009
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    Yeah, they talk about it in the article, rough surfaces in acoustically sensitive areas where skateboarding is not wanted and smooth elsewhere. But, being a long way from Oslo, I can’t be certain on any details. Just re-posting the article.


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